Kiwi team and supporters in charge in Ireland

Six New Zealand
shearers, including World Championships representatives
Rowland Smith and John Kirkpatrick, have made it to the
semi-finals of the Irish All-Nations Open championships
semi-final in Gorey, Ireland.

Smith headed the 18
qualifiers after 70 shearers took part in the open-entry
heats on the first day of the 16th Golden Shears World
Championships, while Kirkpatrick qualified in third
place.

They were separated by Scottish World championships
contender Hamish Mitchell, whose teammate and defending
World champion Gavin Mutch was a surprise elimination.

The
All-Nations has no bearing on the World Championship, for
which the first round will be held tonight (Friday
NZT).

The other New Zealanders still in All-Nations
contention are five-times World champion David Fagan and son
Jack, and Smith’s brothers, Matt and Doug.

Woolhandlers
Joel Henare and Ronnie Goss made a more modest start, in
their All-Nations event. Henare, winner of an All Nations
title in his first Northern Hemisphere outing at the
Balmoral Show in Northern Ireland last Friday, qualified in
fifth place for Gorey’s All Nations semi-finals on
Saturday, but Goss failed to make the cut of nine.

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